Between the shelves
by Archerea
Summary: A series of shots about some of Rapunzel's and Eugene's visits to the library. Quite fluffy and cute, but also concerning more serious topics. Rated T for those, especially in later chapters.
1. Of Fairytales and ceramic unicorns

**Of fairy-tales and ceramic unicorns**

This is supposed to be a small series of shots, both Eugene – and Rapunzel centric, starting with the scene from the movie.  
>I hope you will comment and enjoy.<br>And in case one could be confused about what is writing in italics, they are Eugene's thoughts.

Rapunzel and Flynn visit a library in the kingdom's capital city.

"Eugene! Eugene, look at this!" the blonde girl ran back and forth between the shelves. Her head would appear behind the various pieces of furniture, only to disappear again a second later in her frenzied pursuit of the new and exciting discoveries that the Grand City Library had to offer. They had already looked at the maps of the kingdom in that specific section of the building, and had now moved on to the works of fiction.

Eugene couldn't help but smile softly at her antics, but a piercing stare from the female librarian told him that it was only a matter of moments before they would be kicked out unless he put a damper on Rapunzel's loud exclamations of joy for every new stack of books she encountered. 

He approached the bookcase she was situated behind, reached out and grabbed her arm gently while placing a finger over her lips, which were moving with hectic activity. She silenced in the midst of a "Oh, this (she was holding a heavy, blue bound book in her embrace) is about unicorns and - "  
>With a voice considerably lowered she finished the sentence "And other fa.. Fables." She pronounced the last word with a little difficulty. He raised a questioning eyebrow, and then both, not at all prepared for her asking whatever a fable was.<br>"Um.. It is like a fairytale, you know" Or well, it wasn't quite like a fairytale, but he wanted to make it less complicated for her to understand.  
>She looked at him, her big green eyes full of utter confusion and her head tilted slightly. <em>Wait. She doesn't know what a fairytale is<em> he thought. His shock must have shoved on his facial features, cause she pouted in annoyance. He could imagine how frustrating it must be for her always to be presented before words that seemed so easy to everyone else, but which she had no idea what meant, all because of a stupid, overprotective mother. "Don't look like that" Eugene said, and lead her to sit in a cozy, burgundy colored armchair. He knelt before her.

"Your mother never told you any fairy-tales?"

She shook her head hesitantly. He decided on a logical approach on this.  
>"Then how do you know what a unicorn is?"<p>

"Vladimar at the Snugly Duckling showed me some of the figures from his collection. Magic horses" she explained, smiling proudly, and extending her right arm before her, trying to imitate the horn of a unicorn. He chuckled. "I see. Or I do now, I was way to busy at that time, you know, with all the swords being pointed at me" He made a face of pretend indignation, which succeeded in making her laugh. "Okay, all jokes aside. Want me to explain what fairy-tales are?"

She nodded again, this time more energetic, and frowned in concentration. He was sure that if she had had a pad she would have been taking notes vigorously.  
>"A fairytale is a short story. Or at least it is often, I have read a few quite long, but they're mostly of a limited length. They feature usually folklore and stuff, with a bunch of magic creatures, but also humans on quests". <em>I'm not that good at this explaining stuff, huh?<br>_"Is there a princess?" Rapunzel asked. She smiled now. A smile more radiant than sunshine. It took his breath away and made something, perhaps butterflies, flutter around in his chest and – no, what was he thinking? _Stop_

"Tons of princesses!" he made a gesture with both his hands to show the amount of princesses between them, "And princes, queens, kings and knights."

"And what are those quests like?"  
>"Well, mostly it's the men of the stories that are on quests, really"<p>

She pursed her lips, looking gravely insulted. "Why? Aren't women good enough to leave for adventures?"  
>"Nonono! Of course they are!" he attempted an evasive action, "They just.. Yeah. Aren't all as tough as you, Blondie. They have to get rescued from dragons and evil kings all the time. Thank God you don't need anyone for that job, huh?"<br>He ruffled up the blonde hair on her scalp with a good-nature smile. Rapunzel gave a slight huff at that comment, but seemed satisfied with the answer. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, she watching the librarian darting in and out between the shadows of the shelves, Eugene gazing thoughtfully at the young woman beside him. Then she asked, without looking at him "Do you know any fairy-tales, Eugene?"  
>For a moment he raked his brain for what to say. He had memorized and could re-tell countless of fables, poems and tales, but for some reason a part of him kept insisting that he couldn't just pick a story at random. He had to find one that <em>fit<em> her. One that would spark her interest, make her whole face light up with attention directed solely at his words, and most important of all, one that would make her smile _that_ special smile. The one that seemed to make everything else pale in comparison. And suddenly, he knew. There was one that was nothing short of perfect for her.

"I've got one. It is actually based on actual events, that took place in this very city"

"But shouldn't it be fictional? Is it then a fairytale?"

"It has all the right stuff to be a fairytale. Now hush. Here goes" he breathed softly out, and then started on his tale. He recalled all the details perfectly, which pleased him greatly. If there was one feature of his that Eugene had always been proud of it would be his impeccable memory.  
>"There once was a king and a queen. They were a very happy couple, and had everything they could possibly wish for. Perfect health, endless richness ("Endless?" "Quiet, Blondie" "Sorry.."), and most essential of all, the biggest love for each other you could possibly imagine. But they had no children, even though they were young and none of them had ever been touched by any illness worth mentioning. They both were ever so sad, and thus, because the people of the kingdom loved the royal couple so, a quiet sorrow caught everyone at the heart and caused them to grieve as well"<br>"That's horrible, Eugene. Please, you must tell me another story." Rapunzel pleaded, and she looked as if she felt sadness for the king and queen, whom she didn't even know, as well. He comforted her with a reassuring "It will get better. I promise. One day, it was officially announced that the queen was surely with child. And an unmatchable joy ran through the streets, and there was singing and dancing and eating and feasting from dawn to nightfall, and everyone were equal, maybe not in rank, but in state of happiness. Nine months passed. But then the good fortune did as well."  
>"What happened, what happened?" the blonde girl interrupted, her voice thick with worry. A solemn atmosphere fell over Eugene, and his forehead furrowed slightly. "The queen became very, very sick. She couldn't stand from her bed, and none of the known cures were any good. Carrying the baby had taking a massive toll on her, and all the doctors predicted that neither she nor the child would make it through the birth alive. But the king still believed. Day in and day out, when he wasn't at his wife's side, he would research the books on medication and alternate cures in the royal library. He was untiring in his pursuit, and he would neither sleep, eat or drink unless he was forced to or couldn't keep his eyes open any longer.<p>

Then one day, he stumbled upon something. That was when he had turned upside down the entire library. The Golden Flower, said to be able to heal every disease. The queen just had to consume an extract from it, then she would regain her strength. A hunt was started. Everyone, men as well as women, helped with the searching. There were launched big expeditions to the far ends of the country."  
>Rapunzel stared at him, mouth slightly open and eyes big as teacups and as beautifully green as fresh leaves in spring and – <em>stop right there, Mr. <em>.

"And at last, they finally found the flower, on a deserted island in the most faraway part of the kingdom. And it was golden like.. Like your hair, Blondie, and had a far sweeter smell than any other flower. It was everything it had been cracked up to be." he made a joyous gesture with his arms, as to really describe the perfection of their find, "The flower extract was brought to the queen's chamber. She drank from it, with her servants and her king standing around the bed eagerly awaiting the presumed effect to take place. And it did. Color returned once again to the queen's cheeks, her eyes became as lively and lovely as ever, and she could stand up and walk and talk with no obstacle at all. And soon, a healthy, royal baby girl was born"

"She was? Eugene, that's wonderful!" Rapunzel laughed in animated delight, "It was a magic flower after all, then"  
>"Yes, it was. And things were quite good for some time, until.. Until..- " He stopped dead in his tracks, suddenly insecure. He regarded her from the corner of his eyes. She looked so happy that the king and queen's dream finally had come true. Who was he to rip this happiness away from her with a sad, though truthful ending? He couldn't possibly do that. Why in the world hadn't he thought this through? He should have told her the story of the real Flynn Rider, while that at least was a (partly) innocent one, but admittedly he had been afraid that he would mix it up with his own childhood tale, caused by all the sentimental value.<br>"Until what?" Rapunzel asked curiously.  
>"Uh.. yeah.."<p>

She placed a hand carefully upon his upper arm and studied his troubled expression with a concerned one of her own. "Eugene, what's the matter?"  
>"It's just, you know.." he could not do this. Thankfully, an opportunity to get out of the library and this situation presented itself in form of the quickly increasing red and orange colors in the sky that indicated sunset, "It's too late! I mean, it's getting late. You wanna see the lanterns, right?" <em>Please prove easy to distract, please prove easy to distract, pleas-<em>

"Yes!", she nodded eagerly, "I do! Is it now, does it start now?"  
><em>Thank God<em>  
>"There's about an hour til it gets dark, and one more 'til it starts. We've gotta get going, 'cause I have an idea as to how we'll get to see the lights from a better perspective than anyone else"<br>He stood up from his position on the floor and gently took the blue book about unicorns, which Rapunzel hadn't returned to it's place, to put it on the small table besides the chair. He then grabbed her hand and led her towards the massive set of double doors that was the building's exit. But just as they reached the door and Eugene had his hand hovering above the polished handle, Rapunzel tugged at his sleeve and insisted "But you will tell me the rest of the fairytale, right? About the king and the queen and the little princess? Promise?"  
>He was silent for a moment, then pressed down the handle and smiled at her. As they stepped out into the fresh air and golden sunset, he leaned closer and whispered into her ear, "Promise, Princess"<br>_My Princess sounds even better and – stop._


	2. Of Smiles and rainy days

**Of smiles and rainy days**

Chapter 2 is up, People, and as usual the italics indicates thoughts.  
>This one takes place in the royal library in the king and queen's castle, which Rapunzel and Eugene does now live in. It is quite fluffy all together, and maybe a bit OOC on Eugene's part, but I hope you'll like it.<p>

Lightning flashed outside, each one swift and glowing like a dragon making it's way across the aggressive looking and steel-gray sky, from where an endless stream of heavy raindrops wrapped the scenario outside the window of the castle's reading room in a dreary, invariable fog. Rapunzel's sudden sigh was about as cheery as the weather outside, which didn't go unnoticed by Eugene. He looked up from the quite extensive volume of _The Kingdom Corona's Primary Laws : An overview. _it was a little ironic, really, that one of the most famous, though former, thieves in the whole nation was spending his spare time memorizing those rules he a year ago had taken great pride in breaking. But oh well, it was on the king's request, and the last thing Eugene wished for was for the monarch to become cross with him. Especially not since this famous ex-thief had sorta ended up an item with said king's daughter.

"Anything wrong?"  
>She muttered something unintelligible under her breath while she kept on staring out through the glass. They were both sitting on a big, soft cushioned window seat, Eugene in one end and her in the other, with their bare feet meeting in the middle. He shot a quick glance at the book she'd been reading (<em>Influential Painters through the Ages)<em> and saw that she hadn't turned a page for the last fifteen minutes or so. He had, which surprised him a great deal, been so absorbed in the regulations survey that he had not realized that she'd been staring out into the dark clouds for some time. He put down the book and leaned forward so that he was able to rest his arms on the wide windowsill like she did. He tilted his head and smiled at her, lowering his voice to a soft "Rapunzel?"  
>There was still no answer from his girlfriend. He fingered the hair in the back of her neck gently and teased in a light voice "It doesn't become you to be this quiet, Blondie." his hand moved on to her throat and further up to her cheek, which he caressed for a moment. She closed her eyes and leaned into the touch. "So, dish. What's going on in that head of yours?" he tapped her forehead as to emphasize his question.<p>

She started talking, and he observed her lips move, 'cause dang, she'd pretty lips, a pretty mouth in general and -  
>"-Which I really wanted to do, and now I can't" W<em>hat was she talking about again? <em>He was way to easy to distract, but really, one shouldn't be allowed to have such a cute face and lovely eyes and _damn it_.

"Sorry. Didn't quite catch that" he straightened his back, trying to keep something resembling his cool, "Repeat it, will you?"  
>"I just.." she chewed absentmindedly at the corner of her mouth, "The headmaster of the stable, Rize, had promised me to take me horseback riding today. But the weather is horrible, we can't take the horses out when it's like that. They could slide in the mud or get nervous about the thunder, and we wouldn't be able to see a thing anyway, what with all that rain"<p>

"And you had been looking forward to it" he stated, and she agreed with another wholehearted sigh and a slight pout, "Sorry about that, Punzie."  
>"Please stop calling me that." she muttered, not as much annoyed with the nickname as just annoyed with everything in general at the moment.<br>"What, Punzie?"  
>"Yes, that"<p>

"But it's cute! What about.. Punz?"  
>"No. That's just a shorter version of it. At least be more creative"<br>"Zelle?"

"Eugene..!"

"How 'bout Rappy? Don't tell me you've never thought of that one before – Please, don't give me that look Honey, it's sort of uncanny. Besides, a man named Rice? What did that poor fellow do to deserve such a nickname?"  
>"Rize. With a z. That's his name" she corrected him, finally removing her gaze from the gloomy outside to stare at him warningly, "And don't you <em>dare <em>give him a hard time about it, he's such a nice person"  
>Eugene laughed, which made her expression soften markedly, and said "Okay, I won't. And hey, I'm sure that he'll take you for another ride when the weather is better. Or I could, if you want me to"<br>Her face lit up in a brilliant smile. "You would do that? It'd be great! We could pack a lunch and ride to the meadow with the cherry trees we visited with Mom and Dad once and I could ride Lily and you'd take Maximus!"  
>Her lover raised his eyebrow in mock surprise, and tapped her on the back of her hand with his index finger as to make her aware of a big error in her sentence. "Um, Blondie? Maximus?"<br>"Yes!"

"He hates my guts, Blondie."  
>"Oh no, he doesn't!"<p>

"He tries to eat them or maul them or in other ways render them dysfunctional at every given occasion" Eugene said, and added quickly before she had the chance to defend the horse made captain of the royal guards, "And no, it's not just his way of showing affection"

She opened her mouth a couple of times to come up with a smart reply, but ended up gaping like a fish. Then, all of a sudden, she started laughing. As if she had totally forgotten that it was raining outside, that her plans for the evening with Mr. Rice / Rize had been spoiled and that Eugene had disagreed with her about Maximus' intentions. Some kind of him felt an enormous joy that his words, silly as they may have been, had caused this laughter.  
>That these small gestures could bring a smile to her face. And when people in the future would ask him when exactly he had decided that she, Rapunzel, was the one he wanted by his side forever, he would point out this exact moment. Cause where else would you find a girl who would be ecstatic about handing her lover to a horse with murderous tendencies against said person?<p>

Who could not quiet decide if she should be mad at the rain or not, because she really liked rain and storms and thunder, and who cared enough about someone she had known for such a short while to get defensive about his name on his behalf and threaten her boyfriend not to make fun of him? And whose smile could light up a room like a ray of sunshine and make him forget everything else? Where would _he_ ever find a girl who would grant him such innocent, unconditional love and not ask anything of him in return except that he welcomed it?

So when they a couple of hours later went to bed in their separate bedrooms (because that was apparently how it worked in royal circles and because life was unfair like that), and he lay in his fourposter bed, staring up into the heavy fabric roof, he couldn't help imagining her lying between the blankets on the empty side of the bed. Then he would lie awake and listen to her quiet breathing, only interrupted by those sweet, tiny noises she would sometimes make. He would see the small frown on her forehead which would tell him that she would be far away in her own little dreamworld. And in the morning she would wake up, with her hair all tousled from sleeping, and smile that sunshine smile at him, and Eugene would be the happiest, luckiest and most grateful man on earth.


	3. Of hollow books and snoopy kings

**Of hollow books and snoopy kings****  
><strong>**  
><strong>From Eugene's point of view, this story takes place in the royal library, where Eugene is hoping to drop an important question to Rapunzel. It doesn't quite go as he has planned, though.

"Will you marry me?"  
><em>Too ordinary, try again<em>  
>"Please be my wife and make me the happiest man on earth"<br>_Oh nice, sound pleading and whiny, good idea..__  
><em>"Join me in holy matrimony"  
><em>Sigh.. No.<em>_  
><em>"Marry me, for God's sake!"  
><em>Eugene, really..<em>_  
><em>"This really won't do" Eugene muttered, frustrated, and rubbed his neck in a calming motion. He glanced around his room, and then out the window, where the sun was just starting to rise below the horizon. Soon he would be joining his girlfriend and her family for breakfast on the first floor balcony, but for now he was able to enjoy the peace and quiet his private chamber had to offer.  
>Or well, he didn't exactly know about the peace thing. He hadn't been at peace for weeks, and the object of his unease was resting upon his luxurious bedspread, hiding in a small and shiny box. He sat up straight in his bed from his reclining position and reached for the jewel case. Then he slowly opened it and stared at the content intensely. "You. Must. Be. The. Most. Difficult. Annoying. Time-consuming. Thing. Ever." He told the seemingly innocent piece of jewelry, rolling it back and forth in the palm of his hand, before raising it before his eyes to study it more closely.<p>

The ring was beautiful and nothing short of enchanting. It had to be. It was for _her_ after all.  
>It was a golden engagement band, with a single tear shaped sapphire in it. It wasn't showy or awfully impressive, but simple and elegant, with something that seemed like a hundred different nuances of blue in the precious stone. He had chosen it because of the tear, hoping that she would get its' symbolism. It had been relatively easy to find. There had of course been a small amount of doubt and nervous fretting, but he had handled that with easy professionalism (<em>oh-my-God-wrong-choice-what-if-she-won't-like-it-what-if-she'll-hate-it-ahrg!<em>). It was the proposing-thing that really worried him. He had practiced how he should do it, but didn't seem to go anywhere with it. Why in the world weren't there any to-do-books on this sort of thing?  
>Eugene groaned. It was just a question. It didn't really have to be this hard. But he had, in all his romantic foolishness, decided that the moment should be special. That she would remember it for the rest of her life, so that when she was an old, toothless and retired queen, her old, just as toothless, friends could ask her "So, how did Eugene propose to you?", and she would be able to say "Oh, it was lovely!"<br>_Yeah, like she would sound like that._  
>"Think, Rider, think"<br>He usually referred to himself as Eugene, but old habits dies hard. And he needed Flynn Rider's sharp mind and superior brain (because really, it was) for this task. How to propose to Rapunzel, the love of his life, his only light, etc. Again, it didn't have to be this difficult.

Turned out it was, because at 09:30, Eugene found himself leaving for the balcony to attend the family breakfast, discouraged and very frustrated. Rapunzel, along with the queen and the king, were already seated around the long table. A servant poured steaming hot carrot soup into the plates standing before the members of the royal family. Eugene sat down, only to realize that the eyes of just about everyone were turned to him. He scratched the hair in the back of his neck, slightly uncomfortable. "Sorry for being late" he apologized, "I had an important matter to tend to". If maybe he just sounded serious and dutiful enough.. But the queen just started giggling softly into the palm of her hand, and the king's eyes shone with amusement. Rapunzel was sending him a soothing smile, like trying to say "It's okay, Honey, even if my parents don't believe that you could do anything constructive with your day"  
>Why was it so hard to believe that he had been fixing something in great need of getting fixed, and had not had an ulterior motive? Or well, he had, but that wasn't.. Eugene sighed, and as the food was served, he dug into it, filling his mouth so completely that he wouldn't be able to talk with anyone for a while.<p>

"Maximus, this is not good."  
>The horse regarded him with a very thoroughly accomplished <em>You <em>_are so retarded _look, and turned his concentration back to the hay a stable boy had just poured into his trough. "I know, I know" Eugene muttered. "No, I don't know!"  
>He tugged at the hay absentmindedly, which made Max snort at him in annoyance. "I just want it to be special."<br>"prr" was Max' only reply, before he eagerly dug back into his lunch. "I don't get how you can eat that. It's grass. Dried grass. Cows and other horses have been walking around on that. And you're eating it"  
>"Prr."<br>"You aren't any help at all, you know.. Okay, think Eugene. Something special. What does she like.. Painting. I could.. Paint the box with a lot of colors, I suppose?" He turned his head towards Max in hope of getting a response to this suggestion. The horse shook his head very firmly.  
>"Okay. What else? You! She likes you. Can't I put it into your hay, or something?"<br>"PRR!"  
>"Guess that's a no, then. And not around Pascal's tail either. Guess he would have gotten quite mad at me, anyway."<br>He thought for a moment, head resting in his palm, and then shot straight up with a big grin on his face. "I've got it!"  
><em>You don't have it<em> Max' eyes seemed to say, but Eugene just ignored the stare he was receiving. "Thanks, boy!" he tussled the horse's mane in a half-way affectionate gesture, "Gotta get going, see you later!"  
>He left the stable and ran for the library, an idea forming in his head.<p>

Eugene closed the door to the royal library slowly, taking care not to make a sound and thereby pint-pointing his location. Thankfully there weren't anyone in the big room, so he could go on with his pursuit in quiet. _I think Rapunzel's tutor said they would be around.. Here! Yes__  
><em>He pulled out a normal-size, red covered book, recognizable on the golden h, for 'hollow', at the side of it. He opened it, and found what he was looking for. In the middle of the book a rectangular square was cut out of the paper, forming a small safe. He remembered the tutor saying something about these hidden rooms in books being used during the war for concealing documents and.. Other important stuff. He hadn't quite listened. As long as the book safe would fulfill its purpose, the history of it didn't really matter.  
>So Eugene slipped the ring into the fake book and pushed it back onto the shelf. Now it was only a question about Rapunzel finding it and him smoothly adding the crucial question. Perhaps he would go with the original after all.<p>

Three hours later Eugene and Rapunzel were sprawled in their favorite chairs in the library, in front of a massive fireplace. Merry flames were licking against the sides of it, sending crackling sparks up the chimney. Rapunzel was roasting apples over the embers in the corner of the hearth with a content smile. Eugene, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as peaceful as he tried to make believe. He had long ago given up on making fruity treats over the fire, since all the apples became black and smoking instead of delicious and juicy. They now lay in a pile besides the chair. Perhaps he would give them to Max in the morning. He thought twice and decided that maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all.  
>"You seem nervous" Rapunzel noticed, tossing him a glance.<br>"You think?" He answered, trying to sound innocent, but sort of proving her point right by not being able to sit still in the chair. He tossed his legs over the back of the chair, which resulted in his arms resting on the armrests and his head dangling from the wrong end. _I can see the co__lor of her stockings from here, heh.. Okay, Eugene, focus.__  
><em>He glanced at the shelf where the hollow book was situated, and decided to go for it. _Let Plan A begin.__  
><em>"Punzel?"  
>"Yes?" she looked at him, seemingly worried. Her hair was shining a soft chestnut in the light of the wavering flames.<br>"You see that book over there?" He pointed to the book in question, or rather THE book. When he was sure she was aware which one he was talking about, he added "You mind getting it for me?"  
>"But you're closer to it" she said, turning her head back to the task at hand, namely making sure her apple didn't get too much heat. "Yes, but I have a very lazy composition, which you should know by now." He battered his eyelashes, "Pleeeease"<br>"You are horrible" she said, but couldn't help laughing, "I'll get it."  
>She started to rise, but was interrupted by a factor Eugene had certainly <em>not<em> taking into account.  
>"Nono, Dear, don't get up. If Eugene does not think he can handle standing, I will find the book. Is it the red one, Fitzherbert?"<br>The king. Moving towards the bookshelf. Reaching for the safe with the ring in it. The ring Eugene was supposed to propose with. _Plan B plan B plan B!__  
><em>Except that he couldn't remember Plan B. Had he even had any? He didn't even remember jumping from the chair. The only things he really observed was him running towards the king, who now stood with the still closed book in his hand, the king's baffled expression, Rapunzel yelling something along the line of "Watch out, Dad!".. And then the king moving out of the way just in time to avoid getting trampled by his daughter's desperate boyfriend. Eugene, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky. He tumbled straight into the shelf, toppling it over and falling heavily to the floor. He landed on top of the piece of furniture, and almost disappeared in the pile of books he had pulled down with him. Hawking and spitting he dug out of the ruin, just to wish he had stayed in there a moment later. The king stood above him, totally un-faced by the enormous mess, with the book laid open in his hands. And Rapunzel standing behind said king, looking over his shoulder. She stared at the content of the safe in wide-eyed confusion. His majesty looked at the ring. Then down at Eugene. Then at the ring again. _WhatdoIdowhatdoIdowha__tdoIdo!__  
><em>Then Rapunzel's father started laughing merrily. His well-trimmed beard was bobbing up and down with the motion, as he put the book aside and pulled Eugene onto his feet by his left arm.  
>"Thank you, Eugene, I am very flattered" He said, seemingly having a hard time keeping a straight face. Eugene just wanted to hide very far away.<br>"It isn't for you" he hissed, coughing up dust, "With all due respect, your majesty"  
>He busied himself with trying to drag the shelf back up in an attempt to avoid the curious eyes of Rapunzel, who hadn't said a word since her father had made his discovery. She looked lost, her hands tightened so firmly that the knuckles were starting to turn white. Her green eyes were darting between him and the ring, which was still lying untouched in the book.<br>There was silence for a moment, which to Eugene seemed very close to everlasting, before the king took pity on him. His facial expression grew softer, removing the last traces of laughter, and he said: "I know"  
>Then he turned towards Rapunzel and touched her cheek with warm affection, before handing her the book. "I believe this is for you, Dear" he told her. When he was sure she would not drop it when he loosened his grip on it, he strode towards the double doors in a stately fashion. Just before opening it, he said to Eugene over his shoulder: "I count on you to take good care of her"<br>Eugene just nodded, out of words. Then at last he crocked, with a voice resembling a frog's: "Yes Sir"  
>"Good"<br>The king left, leaving Rapunzel and Eugene to themselves.  
>"So.." He started out, studying her carefully, "This is getting awkward"<br>"Yes" she muttered, but he could see a smile luring at the edge of her lips, and he decided to just go for it. "Will you, then?"  
>"Will I what?"<br>"Marry me"  
>Then he realized that this so wasn't romantic at all. She wasn't supposed to stand with the ring herself and look so nervous. He wasn't supposed to be annoyed and covered from head to toe in dust. She would probably never chat about this with her old, toothless buddies in sixty years from now. She would suppress this moment somewhere in the back of her mind, and be depressed whenever she thought of how her husband had made a fool of himself and ruined the whole proposal with his antiques.<br>_Not if I have anything to__ say about it!_  
>He gently lifted the book from her arms and took the ring from in between the pages; the jewel caught the light streaming through the window's glass, making the polished surface shine. And he knew then that he hadn't chosen wrong. This was just right.<br>He tossed the book aside and knelt down in front of her. Then he took her small hand in his, and smiled up at her. "I wanted to be smart and original, you know. But perhaps there is a good reason so many goes with the old-fashioned way. I've never been one for good reason, though. I do have a very creative composition, after all"  
>These words made her laugh a little. <em>She is like sunshine<em>.  
>"I thought you had a lazy composition" she argued. He raised an eyebrow at this, and then said "I have a lot of compositions, my lady. I am a very talented thief. I stole your heart after all"<br>"Sure you did" she said, now smiling very softly, "Didn't you have something to do?"  
>"Oh! Yes." He fumbled with the band, and then raised it in front of her. "Rapunzel, will you marry me? That would absolutely make my day."<em><br>__What a stupid, stupid thing to say_! His inner voice told him, and he agreed. But apparently Rapunzel didn't. She lowered herself to the floor to be at eye level with him, and then leaned forward to kiss his cheek. "That would be lovely"  
>"Is that a yes?" He asked, quite unable to believe what he heard.<br>"Yes, Eugene"  
>Then he was kissing her, and he could feel the soft, upturned curve of her lips beneath his, and smell the sweet fragrance of her perfume. Possibly lilies, or perhaps something else. He didn't know much about flowers. Not that it mattered, really. Actually nothing mattered right now, except for her.<br>After a couple of minutes in comfortable silence, Rapunzel asked in a whisper: "That's why you have been so stressed and fidgety these last couple of days?"  
>"Make that weeks." he said.<br>"Why didn't you just ask me once you had brought the ting? Which I like very much, by the way". She had put on the band and was now stroking the stone with her left hand's fingers in an adoring caress.  
>"I wanted it to be special and romantic."<br>"It was."  
>"Really?"<br>"Yes, it wasn't your fault my Dad was snooping around like that. It was a very nice idea". The next moment he had her wrapped in his arms, and she was clutching the fabric of his sweater almost frantically while showering his forehead, cheeks and lips with kisses. "I love you, Rapunzel" he whispered into her hair, and she smiled at him.  
>"I Love you too, Eugene. Very, very much"<br>And though pretty much nothing had gone as he had planned for it to, and though the king had screwed just about everything up by being all fatherly, and though it wasn't very fairy-tale-like..  
>It was just about perfect anyway.<p> 


End file.
